Sanitary napkins having side panels intended to overly the outer crotch portion of an undergarment have been proposed as a means of improving security of attachment and protecting the edges of the garment from soiling. U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,047 discloses one such napkin wherein the side flaps overlap each other in the area in which they overly the outer crotch portion of the undergarment. In a preferred embodiment the flaps are provided with means for securing them in place such as a pressure sensitive adhesive positioned so that the flaps adhere to each other in the area where they overlap, or adhere to the outer crotch portion of the garment, or both.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,343 discloses a similar napkin wherein each side panel is provided with adhesive means so that when the side panels are folded over the outer surface of the undergarment each panel is adhesively secured in place. The panels may overlap so that one is secured to the other and the other is secured to the undergarment, or the panels may merely abut one another with each panel individually adhesively secured to the undergarment. The present invention is directed to a sanitary napkin having side panels wherein the panels are held in position overlying the outer crotch portion of the undergarment by a single strip of adhesive tape which is pre-attached to one panel. When the napkin is applied, the adhesive-free panel is first folded over the crotch portion of the garment followed by the second panel with the attached tape tab. The side panels and tape tab are of sufficient length to assure secure attachment of the tape tab to the opposing panel.
For convenience of application, the tape tab is applied to the liquid permeable cover of the napkin which faces to the outside when the napkin is in position. A particularly preferred napkin utilizes an apertured polyethylene film as the liquid permeable cover, and this film has presented a unique problem in connection with the adhesive tape tab. On one hand, the polyethylene film composition and the large open area requires a fairly aggressive adhesive to ensure security of attachment to the apertured film material. On the other hand, the film is very thin and tears easily due to the presence of the apertures. Thus, difficulties have been experienced in providing an adhesive composition which is effective in this use.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved sanitary napkin having side flaps with adhesive means for securing such side flaps around the outer crotch portion of an undergarment. It is a further object of this invention to provide a sanitary napkin having side flaps wherein the flaps are secured by means of a tape tab extending from the edge of one flap to the surface of the other. It is a still further object of this invention to provide an adhesive tape tab for securing the flaps of a sanitary napkin which provides secure attachment to an apertured film facing, and yet permits detachment without extensive tearing of such facing material. These, and other objects of this invention, will be apparent from the ensuing description and claims.